


Thank You Properly

by vignetting



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Canon Compliant, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Galo's a big softie, It's just SWEET and ROMANTIC, Kissing, Lio's thankful to have him, M/M, Post-Canon, These dorks are soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-17 07:53:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21050912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vignetting/pseuds/vignetting
Summary: “I wonder if. We could...feel that close again. Together.”A lil fic that picks up right where the movie ends.





	Thank You Properly

**Author's Note:**

> Forgive me if some minor details are off, I've only seen it once!
> 
> (Also can you tell I like dialogue and hate describing things lol)
> 
> Anyway I'm normally a slow burn fan but I had this conversation between them in my head and had to write it. Hope you enjoy!

Their victory is ultimately...short lived. Galo stands triumphantly in the sunlight with Lio, and as they bump fists, he knows they feel the same: an indescribable high of happiness, immense relief, and their bodies and souls being utterly spent. Lio breaks eye contact and takes a small step forward, smile fading. Galo follows his gaze to the huge metal deathtrap surrounded by miles of wreckage—Foresight’s ship. The joy burns up in his throat and settles like a bunch of rocks in his stomach. He understands.

Galo puts a strong hand on Lio’s shoulder, squeezing it slightly. “We’ll do it together.” He turns around to look at his Burning Rescue squad, locking gazes with each of them meaningfully. “We all will.”

—

It’s long, grueling, depressing work. Galo half expected it, but it didn’t make it any less...hard. The virtual lock on the ship was busted, so they had to open each cell individually. All 3,000 of them.

As the hours passed, it all started to become routine. He mostly worked with Lio, trading off tools, prying open locks and bars, yanking at metal, all the while hearing the distressed cries of the Burnish as they worked in silence. Occasionally they’d happen upon cells that were empty, save a pile of ash and the lingering smell of burnt skin. Galo could tell Lio was trying not to cry. And the more they found, it didn’t get any easier. With each empty cell, Lio would look more and more utterly empty and numb.

The day turned to night and the night turned to day, and Galo was running on pure adrenaline. Lio, however, continued to look worse for wear. Galo told him several times to take a break, but he refused. And now he’s pale, swaying on his feet, and Galo swiftly reaches out to steady him.

“Alright, this is enough.”

“I’m fine,” Lio grits out, breaking away from his grip, but he stumbles forward.

Luckily Galo catches him again. Lio continues to struggle feebly against his stronghold. Galo blows the sweaty strands of hair out of his face and looks up, spotting a familiar hovercraft.

“Aina!” He waves up at her, and upon seeing him she quickly descends.

“I’ve gotta take this next group to the shelter!” she shouts over the motor, jerking her thumb back at the seven Burnish victims crammed in the back. “What’s up?”

“I’m taking Lio back to the Burning Rescue bunks—“

Lio grunts desperately, and Galo wouldn’t be surprised if soon he’d start kicking him like a child.

“I’ll, uh—“ His grip tightens on Lio, and he sighs. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Forget it, Galo, you look like death.”

He clicks his teeth, trying in vain to straighten up and cock an eyebrow charmingly. “Impossible.”

“Seriously Galo,” she says firmly. “You and Lio have been through enough. We can finish up, there’s not that many left.”

He hesitates, his gaze sweeping over the remaining cells. There really weren’t that many left. He clicks his teeth again. “Alright.”

“No _way_,” Lio growls. “I have to see to it that everyone gets out of here.”

“And what good would you be to the Burnish if you collapse and die from exhaustion?” In one swift motion, Galo sweeps him up, wedding-style. “Don’t be dense. That’s my job.”

Lio looks as though he wants to continue arguing, but he slowly exhales, pouting in annoyance.

“You can trust Aina. I promise.”

Lio looks over at her weakly, and she grins confidently at him. “We’ll make sure everyone gets out safely and has a place to stay,” she says. “Don’t you worry.”

Lio looks at her for a few moments, then hangs his head back, blonde hair dangling past Galo’s arm, matted and sweaty. “Fine.”

“Alright.” He salutes to Aina. “We’re off.”

“...At least have the decency to let me walk.”

“Not a chance.”

—

Galo fumbles for his keys while holding Lio one-armed. Lio fell asleep on the way back, which Galo was grateful for. It was certainly better than him arguing the whole way. And also, yeah, he worried for the guy. He couldn’t imagine being an inch from death and then working for 24 hours straight trying to free thousands of your own people from torture chambers and ultimately finding several of them containing burned up bodies. What a truly horrible few days it’s been, despite their victory.

Finally locating his keys, he twists the big one in the lock and it swings open.

The Burning Rescue bunk house is small, but cozy. It only includes a tiny kitchen, a half hallway half living room, and a bedroom with 6 bunkbeds crammed together. Galo has utilized it much more than the other members, staying there pretty much every other night. He can’t help it. He loves his job too much.

He walks into the bedroom and struggles a bit to pull the covers down on a bottom bunk one handed. He then lays Lio down as carefully as possible and covers him with the blanket. He looks a moment over his face, how peaceful he looks, the slightly parted mouth and blonde lashes fanning light shadows on his cheekbones.

Galo smiles softly. Even though this experience has been hellish, he’s grateful to have met this boy.

He crosses the room to close the blinds and climbs into an adjacent bottom bunk, not even bothering to pull down the covers. He buries his head face-first into the pillow and barely has time to reflect on his pulsing limbs and creaking bones before he passes out.

—

He dreams. He dreams of fire, of the Deus Ex Machina, of Lio. He dreams of the flames licking up his body, hurting him, invigorating him. He’s holding Lio’s hand, but he’s not Lio, he’s Galo, and Galo is Lio. But they are turning into ash.

Galo opens his eyes slowly, and it takes a moment to register where exactly he is. Cream colored walls, a mattress above him, a window with closed blinds leading to a fire escape. The memories rush back all at once. He turns to where he tucked in Lio—but the bed is empty.

In a blind panic, Galo sits bolt upright and hits his head on the baseboards, cursing at himself as he scrambles out of bed rather ungracefully. Stupid Lio—probably left the place as soon as he got up to head back to the spaceship—hasn’t eaten anything in days—he could be working himself to exhaustion, or—or—what if someone picked a fight with him on the street or worse, or worse—

He yanks open the bedroom door and—Lio is sitting on the couch. Lio turns to look over his shoulder, glancing at Galo, unaffected. “Rude awakening?” he asks coolly.

“I thought—“ Galo swallows, straightens up, and exhales. “I thought you had left.”

“Still here.” He stretches and relaxes into the couch a bit, turning to face away from Galo.

Galo blinks, glancing into the tiny kitchen. “Tea?”

“Mm. Yes.”

He moves to the cabinets and pulls out the tea kettle. “Be warned, this thing takes forever to heat up.”

“I have the time.”

Galo’s hand stills on the handle for just a moment as he places the kettle on the stove. “Thought you’d be rushing to get back to the ship.”

Lio merely shrugs. “I saw your texts. Aina said they finished a couple hours after we left. The shelters filled up so the remaining people had to sleep on the ship. Pretty cruel but. It is what it is.”

“Jeez, invasion of privacy much...” Galo mutters as he turns on the stove.

“Hey, it was either check your phone or leave to see for myself.”

“And why didn’t you?” Galo asks, crossing over to the couch.

Lio doesn’t answer. Galo stands in front of him now and they lock eyes. He sees a world of pain and exhaustion behind them, like the poor boy could sleep for years and it wouldn’t erase whatever he must be feeling. Suddenly, Lio twitches with some sort of tremor.

“You okay?” he asks, taking a hesitant step forward.

Lio nods. He flexes his fingers, sighs, and wraps his slender arms around his body. “Do you...have a blanket?”

“Of...of course.” He disappears from the room for a moment and returns with a comforter from one of the beds. He cocks an eyebrow at him as he tosses it next to him. “Cold in the middle of summer are we?”

“It’s because of the Promare. It’s gone.” He exhales slowly, wrapping the blanket around him. “My insides feel like ice. This sucks.”

“Oh.” Right. Galo winces in sympathy, sitting down next to him. “I’m sorry.”

Lio pulls the blanket more tightly around him. “Just another thing to deal with,” he mutters with a slight shrug.

Galo twists his body to face him. “At least you don’t have to answer to pyromaniac aliens anymore.”

Lio rolls his eyes and shakes his head. But he can see he’s smiling softly. “Sure. I guess.”

Lio flexes his hands once more, sighs, and leans his head on Galo’s shoulder. Galo instinctually stiffens, but immediately regrets it when Lio lifts his head, shifting away a bit. “Sorry. You’re just warm.” He glances back at the tea kettle.

Galo’s heart falls deep in his stomach, mentally beating himself up. On impulse, he reaches his arm around Lio somewhat forcefully, bringing him close to his body. It’s Lio’s turn to stiffen, but he quickly relaxes into his shoulder.

They stay like this for a while. It’s quiet. Peaceful, not too awkward, save for Galo’s heart beating faster than normal. It feels good. It reminds him of how he fell asleep on the way here a few hours ago. Face pressed against his chest, peaceful, like he was relaxing for the first time in years. He smiles softly, unconsciously tightening his hold on him.

“Hey Galo,” Lio says. His voice is quiet, thoughtful, tired. “How...were you able to save my life?”

Galo’s nerves light up, heart jumping up in his throat as he tries to swallow it down. Oh boy. “Uhh. It was the protective flame you gave me. I swallowed it and tried to...breathe it inside you. Like how you did it with that girl.” He pauses. “Sorry, it seemed like it was the only way.”

Lio was quiet for a moment, fiddling with the blanket between his fingers. “Can I properly thank you?”

“You...you don’t have to, it was nothing.”

Lio shifts to look into his eyes. Galo’s struck suddenly by how pretty he looks. “Can I though?”

Galo’s brain misfires repeatedly as he just stares into his eyes. His mouth twitches slightly. “Sh...sure.”

And like that, Lio inches his face towards his and presses his lips softly to Galo’s.

It’s short, it’s sweet, but it’s meaningful. Galo remains still, completely unable to truly process what’s happening.

Lio pulls away slowly and looks into his eyes for another moment. “Thank you,” he says. And he relaxes into Galo’s shoulder once more.

Galo swallows thickly, trying to calm his racing heart. He has trouble picturing how Lio can be cold right now, since his own skin feels like it’s on fire.

He tries to blink away the haze and smoke shrouding his thoughts. “It really wasn’t a big deal,” he says. Then he pauses. “Really I should be thanking you.”

Lio looks up at him, brows furrowed slightly. “What for?”

“Well...your flame saved _my_ life. Plus without it, I wouldn’t have been able to save you. So I’m grateful. For both things.”

Lio stares at him for a few moments. Anxiety thrums through Galo’s veins, but the faint blush on Lio’s cheeks assures him a bit.

“I see,” he says quietly. “Guess that’s true.”

Galo chews on the inside of his lip and shifts to look directly at Lio. “Can I...thank you properly?”

Lio blinks twice. He looks shy, a look Galo’s never seen on him before. Then again, Galo must appear stupidly timid too. He doesn’t think he’s ever felt this way before. It sure is...different. He kind of misses the overbearing air of confidence. But jeez. This is also nice.

“Yes,” he says. His eyes slide closed.

God.

He can feel his face redden and he’s grateful Lio’s not looking. He hesitates for just a moment, sitting in these strange, heightened emotions. His eyes drift down to his lips, slightly parted like when he was asleep. And he lets his body take over.

He presses his lips to Lio’s. A little longer than last time but still simple. So...warm.

They drift away naturally. They look at each other for a moment. “Thank you,” Galo says.

“Anytime.”

Lio’s eyes flit across Galo’s facial features, as if searching or confirming something for himself. Galo watches him do this, studies him studying him.

His gaze eventually settles to lock with Galo’s, but only briefly, and he turns back forward, hugging the blanket close to him.

“Galo,” he says.

“Mm.”

“I liked being in the Deus Ex Machina with you.”

Galo’s eyebrow quirks up, a bit playfully. “Galo de Lion? Lio de Galon?”

“Whichever.” He looks down in his lap, flexing his fingers. Then he says, in a small voice: “I liked being connected to your soul.”

Galo swallows. Yes...somehow it feels that they shared something with each other that Galo will probably never share with anyone else. He knows Lio deeply, even though barely knows anything about him. It felt so good to be close to someone like that. To Lio. In an...indescribable way.

“Yes,” was all he could think to say.

Lio nods slightly. A short silence stretches between them. Galo sweats—he wants to elaborate but...god, what would he think if he said...this.

Screw it. He says it anyway.

“I wonder if. We could...feel that close again. Together.”

Lio presses his lips together. “What...use the mecha again?”

“No.”

This time he doesn’t elaborate. He hopes he gets it.

Lio slowly turns his head to look at him. Timid again. Blushing. Cute...

“Connected by the soul...a different way...”

Galo barely notices their faces inch closer. “Yes.”

They inch a bit more, lips just a centimeter apart. They breathe the same air for a few moments, and Galo closes the gap.

Their lips lock into a slow rhythm, Galo leading at times, Lio leading at others, and it feels like a brilliant dance, one so natural, like they’re just extensions of each other.

Galo’s hands gradually find their way on Lio’s back, fingers trailing up and down his spine. He can’t remember a time where he felt the need to be so delicate.

Lio’s hands were knotted in Galo’s hair, pulling him slightly forward. He wanted to be closer, then. Well fine. So did Galo.

Eventually their bodies were flush against each other, lips moving a bit more frantically now, yet still in synchronized movements. “Galo,” he whispers in between kisses.

God.

“Lio,” he whispers back.

“Galo.”

“Lio.”

Galo, Lio, Galo, Lio, Galo, Lio.

Galo de Lion. Lio de Galon.

Galo presses forward, gradually guiding Lio to lie down. Everything feels so warm. And he realizes, as they kiss, they’re creating something beautiful. They’re creating their own fire.

Just as Lio’s head settles on the couch, Galo moves his hands to Lio’s hips. He massages slow circles inside of his hip bones...and slowly moves his hands more inward, when—

A loud, high pitched whistle sounds from the kitchen. They both open their eyes, and Galo is forcefully thrown back into reality. His face reddens, and he removes his hands, sitting up.

“I should...I’ll get the tea.” He gets up hurriedly to take the kettle off the burner. Mind racing, he runs on auto pilot, pulling mugs out from an overhead cabinet. He spares a glance at Lio. He remains lying down, looking forward. He can see he’s smiling ever so slightly.

Galo pulls out a couple tea bags and places them in the mugs, narrowly avoiding burning his finger as he distractedly pours the hot water inside.

He brings the mugs to the couch, carefully handing one over to Lio, trying to avoid eye contact. “Careful,” he says, “it’s hot.”

“Thanks.”

They sip their tea in silence for a few moments, Galo not even caring that he’s burning his tongue.

“That kettle does take a while,” Lio remarks.

Galo smirks. “Warned you.”

Lio smiles softly again, but Galo can tell he’s trying to hide it behind his mug. “I’m glad it does.”

Galo’s ears redden. “I guess I agree.”

They sip for another few quiet moments. Then:

“So,” Lio prompts. “What’s the verdict?”

“Hmm?”

“Did it feel like Deus Ex Machina?”

Galo blinks, thinking for a moment. Swallowing, he shakes his head. “Felt...better.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Lio blush. “I guess I agree.”

Lio goes to take another sip and pauses before it reaches his mouth. He seems to be contemplating something, but what, Galo’s not sure. Suddenly, somewhat forcefully, he places the mug on the coffee table and stands up, crossing the room to the window. Galo watches him, slowly putting his mug down as well.

He looks towards the window, knotted strands of hair and the edges of his skin bathed in sunlight.

“Galo Thymos,” he says firmly. He turns, backlit now, eyes twinkling with a fire that didn’t seem to leave his soul after all. In that moment, Galo thinks he looks like some kind of beautiful, otherworldly angel.

Galo nods, acknowledging him. And then he says something Galo will never forget for as long as he lives:

“I will not abandon you if you will not abandon me.”

Galo stares dumbly, letting these words wash over him and settle deep into his skin. He knows Lio is putting all of his conviction behind this statement, that each word implies so much more. And god...it fills him with such happiness. But of course, he’s only capable of saying something stupid.

“Is that a challenge?”

Lio stares, eyes wide. He blinks twice, and there’s a few moments of silence before his mouth cracks into a wide smile and he starts laughing. And laughing. And laughing.

“Galo Thymos, you really are an idiot.”


End file.
